ESPN and the Changing Sports Media Landscape

Greg G. Armfield (Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at New Mexico State University. His research explores the role of cultural identity in sports and organizations.John McGuire (Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia) is Professor in the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University. His research interests focus on the sports media business, sports announcing, and political reporting. Adam Earnheardt (Ph.D., Kent State University) is Chair and Professor of Communication Studies in the Department of Communication at Youngstown State University. His research focuses on the intersection of sports fandom, parenting, and social media.

• List of Tables and Figures – Greg G. Armfield/John McGuire/Adam C. Earnheardt: Preface: September 8, 2011 – Section One: Changes and Challenges in the Sports Media Marketplace – Stephen W. Dittmore: Sports Programming as a Public Good: A Complicated Congressional Legacy – David Bockino: ESPN’s Search for a Sustained Global Competitive Advantage – Paul Smith: A Whole New Ball Game? The Changing European Sports Rights Marketplace – Brody J. Ruihley/Andrew C. Billings: Ascending as the Fantasy Giant: ESPN Fantasy, Mainstreaming Fantasy Gaming, and the Role of Goliath – Steve Young/Sean Fourney/Braden Bagley: ESPN and esports: Capturing and Joining a Rising Sport – Section Two: Changes and Challenges in the Sports Media Political Environment – Kevin Hull/Miles Romney/David Cassilo: Tune It or Stream It? Can Millennials and the Internet Save ESPN? – Ryan Broussard/Jonathan Graffeo: ESPN’s Double Standard? The Politics of Frame and Tone in Sports – Katherine L. Lavelle: A "Fireable Offense?: Jemele Hill and the Rhetoric of Public Correction – David Staton: Jemele Hill, Twitter, and ESPN: Thinking Inside the (Potter) Box – J. Scott Smith: Adapting to the Digital Age: ESPN’s Crisis Communication During the 2015 and 2017 Layoffs – Section Three: Changes and Challenges in the Sports Media Programming Environment – Xavier Ramon/José Luis Rojas Torrijos/ Andrew C. Billings: The Present (But Not Future) ESPN Ombudsman: Levying Accountability Through the Inception of the Digital Age – John McGuire: SportsCenter at 40: Evolving With the Times – Jake Kucek/Zach Humphreys/Adam C. Earnheardt/Greg G. Armfield: ESPN’s Evolving Mobile Motives: Development, Consumption, Competition – Jared Johnson: Creation of The Longhorn Network: Shadow of a Dying Business Model – William M. Kunz: National vs. Local: Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Networks in the 2010s – Anji L. Phillips/Dunja Antunovic: "Seeking a Storybook Ending": Examining the Future Distribution of Women’s Sporting Events – Section Four: The Changing Sports Media Landscape – Sarah Wolter: "Tying the Brand to Something a Little Bit Bigger": A Political Economy Analysis of espnW – Michael L. Butterworth: Storytelling at the Worldwide Leader in Sports: An Interview With John Walsh, Executive Vice President of ESPN, Retired – Melvin Lewis: Modern Pathways of Sports Consumption: An Interview With Paul Melvin, Senior Director of Communications for ESPN – Andreas Hebbel-Seeger/Thomas Horky: Sports Media in 2020: Patterns, Trends, and Crystal-Ball Gazing – Visualizing 2020: The Future of Sports Media Panel Discussion – Editor Biographies – Contributor Biographies – Index.

“Much like ESPN assembles the best talent for delivery of its flagship SportsCenter program, Greg G. Armfield, John McGuire, and Adam Earnheardt have gathered respected scholars from around the world to examine the most pressing issues in the sports media industry. Foremost among the issues explored in this book is how ESPN and other media empires adapt to try to reach an audience distracted by a seemingly endless list of entertainment choices. These scholars help readers better understand how ESPN continues to rise to meet the challenges of this ever-changing industry and what strategies to use to stay ahead of the game. With each chapter expertly crafted by top scholars and thought-leaders—including interviews with ESPN heavyweights like John Walsh, Paul Melvin, and Kevin Blackistone, and The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis—it’s easy to understand why this book will be one of this decades most influential collections of sports media studies. At 40 years old, ESPN has certainly grown into a sports media leader. Thanks to ESPN and the Changing Sports Media Landscape, we now have a guide for how ESPN might survive the next 40 years and how NBC, CBS, Fox, and others will continue to challenge the supremacy of the self-proclaimed ‘worldwide leader in sports.’”—James P. Tressel, President of Youngstown State University, College Football Hall of Fame inductee, and author of The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life